The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 243: Give him back his own way

November 1730, 11, Trieste, Holy Roman Empire.

From 1369 to 1372, the Venetians briefly occupied the port of Trieste, but most of the local citizens submitted a petition to Leopold III of the Habsburg Dynasty, hoping that he would come to rule in Trieste. Astor became part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1719, following the strong demands of local nobles and lords, Trieste became a free port under the authorization of Charles VI of the Habsburg dynasty. However, in many aspects such as diplomacy, military, and even domestic affairs, it is still subject to the constraints and influence of the empire.

As one of the few trading port cities in the Holy Roman Empire, Trieste has a busy commercial district, lined with taverns, coffee houses and shops, and people are coming and going on the streets.

On the north side of Trieste, which is also the highest point of the entire city, there is a magnificent castle, which was once the main fortress of the medieval feudal lords. Today, it serves as the governor's palace of Trieste.

The Governor's Palace sits on a lawn and is surrounded by high walls covered with lush vegetation. In front of the palace is a beautiful fountain. The water splashes on the flower bed, reflecting the winter sunshine and seeming to illuminate the entire courtyard.

Under the guidance of a waiter, Luca Vitri walked into the splendid hall and met the Governor of Trieste and the Austrian Count Sebastian Predel.

"Are you here on behalf of the people of Qi?" Count Frotz raised his chin and asked rather arrogantly.

"Yes, Your Excellency, Count." Luca Vitri was a little nervous, and his hands involuntarily grasped the hem of his clothes tightly.

"Hey, what did the people of Qi send you to do?"

"...The Governor of Qi State asked me to pass on a message."

"Hmph, I really want to know the answer to the Qi people's question." Count Flotz stepped forward and looked at the Qi waiter aggressively. "If the empire chooses war, what do they want? What if we want to What to do to maintain peace?”

"..." Luca Vitri glanced at the other party, then lowered his head and did not respond.

I originally thought that no matter how hard the Qi people targeted the Habsburgs, they could only use their hands to indirectly hurt the Ottomans or Prussians.

"Are there not enough military contests between the Empire and Qi?" Count Frotz couldn't help but become angry when he heard this, and said bitterly: "For decades, they have continued to arm and fund the Ottomans, fighting against the Empire. There have been many wars in Wallachia, Moldavia, and Serbia, with numerous casualties among imperial officers, soldiers, and civilians. Have the people of Qi considered the feelings of the empire? Have they brought peace to the empire? ?”

"The Governor of Qi said that if the empire wants to maintain peace, it must not interfere in the affairs of the Istria region, prohibit the import of weapons and military supplies there, and stop funding the rebel forces." Luca Vitri said with some difficulty. : "If the empire chooses war, then Qi will not mind having a formal military contest with the empire."

Under the leadership of the Habsburg dynasty, the Holy Roman Empire was not only the only major country on the European continent that did not establish diplomatic relations with Qi, but also strictly prohibited the states and princes within the empire from interfering with Qi in the name of the emperor. trade, culture, or other exchanges.

What's even more annoying is that Qi has also established a very close relationship with the Kingdom of Prussia, a member of the Holy Roman Empire, and secretly supports it in competing with the Austrians for dominance and influence in the German region.

Since the 1960s, the people of Qi have been colluding with the Ottomans, the mortal enemies of Catholicism. The two sides have not only carried out close economic and trade exchanges, purchased "white slaves" without scruples, but also spared no effort to provide benefits to the Ottomans. The financial and material support allowed the latter to quickly recover after being defeated by the European coalition forces, and then launch another round of attacks on Europe, making the Austrians, who were always on the front line of Europe, miserable.

"Huh, the empire has lasted for thousands of years, has a long civilization, and is so powerful in the whole of Europe. How can it be threatened by your Qi country?" Earl Flotz said coldly: "Although the Qi people defeated England and Venice, they won A temporary victory. But don’t forget that they are still outsiders on the European continent.”

Therefore, before the Qi-British War broke out, the Habsburg Dynasty accepted the advice of the Kingdom of England without any scruples and launched an attack on the Ottoman Empire from the Balkans, in order to divert the attention and energy of the Qi people there. Thus reducing the frontal military pressure on the Kingdom of England.

In other words, the Qi people had actually indirectly launched a military attack on the Holy Roman Empire.

What makes the Austrians even more angry is that the Qi people only provide money and goods, but they also provide people!
In many military confrontations with the Ottomans, the imperial army captured Qi soldiers sporadically. After some interrogation, these Qi soldiers admitted that they were helping and guiding the Ottoman army to fight, and even participated in the planning of many large-scale battles.

"..." Luca Vitri glanced at the other party again and moved his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he was afraid of the other party's noble status and chose to remain silent.

On the European continent, if there is a country that hates Qi the most, it is the Holy Roman Empire. Well, to be precise, it should be the Habsburg dynasty that has dominated the position of emperor for hundreds of years.

Because no matter how tyrannical Qi was, they could not bring their proud navy to land to pose a direct threat to the Habsburg dynasty.

Under this situation, the Habsburg dynasty naturally had no good feelings towards the Qi people.

"Huh?" Count Flotz's eyes immediately widened after hearing this, and a hint of anger appeared on his face, "Do the people of Qi want to threaten the empire with war?"

"What?"

"The Governor of Qi asked..." Luca Vitri looked up at the Austrian noble, swallowed his water, and said bravely: "The Governor of Qi asked...Do the Austrians want a war? I want to continue to maintain the current peace.”

Gein, Qi is so hated.

Of course, the Habsburg dynasty made this decision not out of a mentality of sacrificing themselves to save others. The biggest reason was that the empire and the Kingdom of England made a political deal in exchange for their promise to support the empire. Maria Theresa, the eldest daughter of Emperor Charles VI, had the legal right to inherit.

Although the Habsburg dynasty sent troops to attack the Ottomans in accordance with the established agreement, it also attracted the attention of the people of Qi as expected.

But after all, they underestimated the powerful strength of Qi. Not only did they continue to fund the Ottomans, providing them with large loans and ordnance supplies, stabilizing the Balkan front, they also had the remaining power to unite with the Persian Empire in the Caucasus and bring Russia to the forefront. He was beaten up and completely expelled from the Caucasus.

At the same time, Qi State assembled a large number of naval ships, crossed the two oceans, and fought all the way to Europe, where they fought with the English Navy and finally won.

What shocked the Habsburgs even more was that after taking care of England, the Qi State, together with the Ottomans, invaded the Republic of Venice from both sea and land directions, crushing it and forcing an emergency landing on the most powerful country in Italy. After Qi forced the Republic of Venice to sign the Treaty of Venice, in addition to extorting large sums of compensation and forcing it to open its domestic market, Qi also acquired ownership of the Istria Peninsula and more than ten surrounding islands.

After the Habsburg dynasty heard the news, they immediately couldn't sit still.

If you open the map of Europe, you will find why the Holy Roman Empire is so angry.

Although the HRE acquired the Spanish Netherlands during the Thirty Years' War, a section of the sea along the North Sea coast, and a port with extremely favorable conditions such as Antwerp, it was sandwiched between the Netherlands and France. Once the situation in Europe changes slightly, there will be a risk of the sea channel being blocked.

The Holy Roman Empire, located on the Adriatic Sea, had two good ports that were not threatened by major powers, namely Rijeka and Trieste. In the past, although the Republic of Venice was capricious and unpredictable at times with the Ottoman Empire, it was not a good alliance partner. However, since everyone is a member of the Catholic world and their own national power is limited, the Venetians will not pose a threat to the Holy Roman Empire.

Therefore, although the Istria Peninsula belongs to Venice, the two ports of Rijeka and Trieste on both sides of the peninsula have always been in a relatively safe state, and can even rely on the protection of the Venetian navy to avoid Ottoman intrusion.

Now, the Istria Peninsula has been ceded to Qi and has become the overseas territory of the Indian Ocean overlord that the empire hates most. This makes the two Adriatic ports belonging to the empire instantly become dangerous.

The Austrians never expected that Qi would become a neighbor of the empire in the blink of an eye!
The Port of Trieste is located in the northwest of the Istria Peninsula belonging to Qi State, less than five kilometers away. If you set out after breakfast in the morning, you can reach the door before lunch.

The Port of Rijeka is located in the northeast of the Istria Peninsula, not far away, only more than 20 kilometers away, which may give the imperial army enough warning time. However, more than a dozen islands outside the port, including Krk Island, Cres Island, and Lošinj Island, have tightly blocked access to the sea. If the Qi people set up cannons on these islands, a ship will never be able to sail out of Rijeka Port.

No, we absolutely cannot allow the Qi people to successfully control the Istria Peninsula, let alone gain a foothold here.

Therefore, when Qi just took over the area, the Austrians continued to spread rumors, claiming that the Qi people were extreme pagans from the east and were as cruel and greedy as the Ottomans. They dehumanize, wantonly torture and massacre Catholics, and will destroy all Venetians physically and mentally.

The Austrians hope that through this kind of terrifying exaggeration, the Venetians and local residents will bravely stand up and resist Qi's rule. Even if they cannot force the Qi people to give up this territory and return to the Republic of Venice, they will try their best to prevent the Qi people from establishing the Republic of Venice. The normal ruling order has always been in chaos.

However, to the disappointment of the Austrians, under the deterrence of the Qi army, the local residents and Venetians did not launch large-scale armed resistance. Instead, driven by terrifying rumors, they abandoned their homes and took their lives with them. The family fled with their mouths.

In more than a year, almost half of the residents of the entire Istria Peninsula fled. Except for a small number of people who fled back to Venice mainland by boat, most of them poured into the territory of the HRE. For a time, the influx of many refugees caused huge troubles to the local people's livelihood and life in the empire.

Naturally, this situation is what the Austrians do not want to see, and it is even more unacceptable. If all of you Venetians have fled, who can you expect to cause trouble for the people of Qi?

The imperial military and political officials in the port of Trieste received instructions from Vienna, ordering them to rearm and train the Venetians who had fled to the territory, and then send these people back to the Istria Peninsula to carry out an armed uprising. Expelled the people of Qi.

Since February last year, the Qi army has successively withdrawn from the city of Venice in accordance with the provisions of the "Treaty of Venice", and then shipped it back to Egypt, and then returned to the mainland or overseas territories, causing the Istria Peninsula and surrounding islands to There are only more than 1,500 Qi garrison left.

Just when the Austrians were wondering whether to take advantage of Qi's lack of military strength, they would send the retrained Venetian civilian armed forces there and make a big splash to torment the Qi people. Just in June of this year, a massive armed uprising broke out on the territory on the east coast of the Adriatic controlled by the Ottomans. The Venetians, who could not bear the oppression, took up crude weapons and began to attack Ottoman officials and garrison soldiers. Fires were fired everywhere. Start a beacon fire.

Faced with this opportunity, how could the Austrians let it pass? They immediately reached out and sent a large number of Venetian civilian armed personnel to the Istria Peninsula. In order to enhance their combat power, they even provided several artillery and More than ten professional gunners.

Sure enough, more than two months ago, the Qi army, which had underestimated the enemy, was attacked head-on by the rebels in Pazin. More than two hundred people were killed and injured. In the end, they fled back to Pula in embarrassment, unable to escape.

After hearing the news, the Austrians in Trieste all cheered and held a grand dance to celebrate.

Although the Qi soldiers who were killed were all their servants recruited from India, this small victory still made the Austrians feel inexplicably excited.

The Qi Army does not seem to be as powerful as the legend says.

After the First World War in Pazin, the inspired local residents joined the rebels one after another. They not only provided money and supplies, but also actively joined the army, causing the rebel team to expand to more than 3,500 in a very short period of time.

Subsequently, under the guidance of Austrian military advisers, the rebels raided everywhere, occupied villages, towns and manors, and crucified all the Venetian officials and manor owners who had surrendered to Qi, and all their property was confiscated, becoming a way for the rebels to continue recruiting troops. capital.

The situation seems to be great. As long as the rebels occupy and control the entire Istria Peninsula, the Qi people guarding the city of Pula will become a turtle in the urn.

The people of Qi, who suffered a humiliating defeat, would eventually have to give up the Istria Peninsula, or return it to the Republic of Venice, or sell this land to the Austrians and leave with the bucket in despair.

European affairs are, after all, our own affairs as Europeans. You, a native of Qi thousands of miles away, are here to meddle in something.

Unexpectedly, after a few months, the Qi people actually sent an envoy to the city of Trieste, and threatened the empire with war, warning the empire not to interfere in the affairs of the Istria Peninsula, let alone to attack the rebels. Provide necessary material assistance.

In response, Earl Flotz refused unceremoniously.

The empire has the ability and the obligation to provide necessary assistance to the people of the Lord to prevent them from falling under the brutal oppression of the heretics.

When you, the Qi State, made this rude request, didn't you reflect on your own conscience and ask why you continued to provide massive aid to the Ottomans despite the empire's firm opposition?
Every silver coin you provide to the Ottomans will eventually turn into evil projectiles and be shot at the soldiers and people of the empire.

So, our Holy Roman Empire now funds the Venetian resistance forces, and we also want to make you, the people of the country, experience this unspeakable pain and helplessness.

(End of this chapter)